China has refused to apologise for one of its officials posting a graphic image Prime Minister Scott Morrison has labelled as "repugnant", demanding instead that Australia do some "soul searching" in the wake of a damning war crimes investigation.
Key points:
On Monday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted the picture created by a Chinese artist, depicting an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child.
The post was in response to the findings of the long-running Brereton inquiry, which recommended 19 current and serving special forces soldiers face criminal investigation for the murder of at least 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
Shortly after the post, Prime Minister Scott Morrison described it as "outrageous", demanding it be removed and an apology be issued by the Chinese Government.
Such a response was not forthcoming.
"The Australian Government should do some soul searching and bring the culprits to justice, and offer an official apology to the Afghan people and make the solemn pledge that they will never repeat such crimes," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
"Shouldn't the Australian Government feel ashamed? Shouldn't they feel ashamed for their soldiers killing innocent Afghan civilians?"
In releasing the findings of the war crimes investigation earlier this month, Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief Angus Campbell "sincerely and unreservedly" apologised to the Afghan people for the "wrongdoing" of special forces.
"The Australian side is reacting so strongly to my colleague's Twitter — does that mean that they think the cold-blooded murder of Afghan innocent civilians is justified while other people's condemnation of such crimes are not justified?" Ms Hua said.
"Afghan lives matter."
The criticism of Mr Zhao's post came quickly, with allegations of hypocrisy by Beijing for seizing upon the findings of the Brereton inquiry.
China has been accused of gross human rights violations against the ethnic Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province, characterised as "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide".
The irony of a senior official using Twitter to launch such a political attack was also raised, given the censorship of the social media platform by the Chinese Government.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTMwL2NoaW5lc2UtZ292ZXJubWVudC1yZWZ1c2VzLWFwb2xvZ3ktaW1hZ2UtYXVzdHJhbGlhbi1zb2xkaWVyLzEyOTM2MTU00gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyOTM2MTU0?oc=5
2020-11-30 08:24:00Z
52781215859532
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "China refuses to apologise for graphic image of Australian soldier tweeted by government official - ABC News"
Post a Comment